King James I of Huronia Bay
King James I (born James Simms, May 16, 1738-July 1, 1791) was the second king of Huronia Bay and the brother of the first king, John I. Early Life James Simms, the second son of John Simms, Sr., and Margaret Tuthill, was born in a faraway country in 1738. Little is known about James's home life besides the fact that his father, John, was a poor stonemason. When his brother, John, Jr., left the family household in the 1760s to study law in a nearby town, James accompanied him. Town Life While in town, James began to apprentice under the town newspaper owner/editor. As he grew more confident as a writer for the periodical, he eventually became its chief writer, and then in 1775 became owner/editor himself. At this point, as James once wrote to a friend, he felt "the most accomplished he had been all of his life". James began to be recognized by the town's small, exclusive upper class, adding to this feeling. In addition, in 1777, James was made a town leader, a post he held until 1779. Society of Huronia In 1778, after his brother John formed the Society of Huronia, James joined the society, causing the local government of the town in which he lived to in 1779 remove him from his post as a town leader. However, undeterred, James remained a member of the society until its dissolution in 1780. In 1781, when the society was reformed as a secret group, James again joined. However, this came to cost him much of his small accumulated wealth due to numerous anti-government conspiracy trials brought upon him by the same upper class that once recognized him as one of their own. By 1782, James was nearly bankrupt. Having no reason for staying in the town that hated him and being nearly penniless anyway, James willingly assented to his brother's wish for him to travel with his brother to a new land with the Society of Huronia. The pair arrived in 1783, and the society immediately crowned John their king. Royal Family Because of his brother's newfound royalty status, James came to hold a pivotal role in the shaping of the new Constitutional Monarchy of Huronia Bay. As such, he worked toward the same values that the former Society of Huronia once cherished, including extensive work on the passage of the Huronian Parliament Bill (1785) and Huronian Rights Bill (1786). In addition, James worked to build the beginnings of a Huronian navy, fronting all of his wealth from the Old World to help plan a harbor in Port St. Albert, though the sum donated was very minimal. In 1789, when plans for the first Huronian naval ship were announced, James publicly backed the plan, even helping to physically construct the ship and then launch it from Port St. Albert in 1790. Reign After the death of John I on Mar. 3, 1791, James was crowned King of Huronia Bay, as John had no descendants. However, James's reign was cut short due to his sudden death only four months later, on July 1. However, during his short reign, James did help fund a second naval ship and worked to formalize a Huronian peerage system. Death On the evening of July 1, 1791, James I was dining with some Huronian government leaders. Suddenly, he collapsed in his seat and then began to seize, after which he awoke and apologized. He then walked to his bed chamber. The leaders, thinking it a singular incident, dismissed it and left for home. However, a servant found James I dead in the morning, evidently suffering from a major stroke. External Links Category:Leaders Category:History Category:Misc